Happy Birthday to my Brother!!

Just putting a “shout out” blog to my brother :-) It’s his 25th Birthday today and unfortunately he has to work!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!! You are the best brother any sister could EVER ask for!!!


Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long. ~Susan Scarf Merrell


The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out his nose. ~Garrison Keillor


Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply. Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814

You and I have so many memories — you share my history. You remember where I’ve been,respect who I’ve become and encourage me where I’m going. - Unknown

One Month Down, Many More to Go!

Today officially marks my being on Nutri System for one full month. I’ve lost 11.2 lbs total from my start weight. 11.2 lbs is actually quite decent for one full month. This past week, I gained back the pound that I Lost in the previous week. So that was a little upsetting. However, I do think that it is just water weight. I’ll probably lose that and some next week. Let’s keep our fingers crossed! :-)
Over all, I’m feeling a LOT healthier. I feel better than I have in a long time. I have more energy, more confidence in saying “No” to foods that I would love to eat, but know they are not on plan. This past weekend’s temptation was ice cream. I turned it down and was ultimately proud of myself. Every now and then foods creep up here and there with the temptation seeming to call my name and say “Christie, Eat Me!” (okay, a little alliteration never hurt anyone). It’s learning to turn those temptations into positive outcomes by saying no thanks. It’s not really about losing weight, it’s about taking charge of my ability to decide what’s best for me; both in the short term as well as the long term.
So here I go into my second month, and I'll definately keep you all posted. Thanks again to you all! Your encouragement and support definately help me during this journey!

Letting the Pounds drop! 3/19/2007

One more week down and one more pound down! Total I’ve lost 12.2 lbs in Three weeks time! GO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was a little disappointed to find that I had only lost one pound over the week, but I was sick last Thursday and Friday and didn’t consume as much water and as many calories as I should have. So whatever I did eat, my body clung to, and because I didn’t move much, I didn’t really burn much.
One pound isn’t that bad. At least I’m still a "Loser" :-) haha!!! When you think about it one pound is actually a lot. Here are some other things that weigh one pound.
1. One pound of ground beef can feed a family of 5.
2. One pound of butter can last for a good amount of time, or make a pound cake (well, the original pound cake).
3. One pound of Keychain rings can cost an idiot $2.99 on ebay.
4. Four Medium Apples weigh approximately 1 pound
5. Four sticks of margarine weighs approximately 1 pound
6. Adding one pound to a premature infant can mean a life saved.
7. Losing one pound to someone 1 pound away from their goal would mean mission accomplished!
8. One pound is 4 cups of all purpose flour
9. One pound is also 2 ¼ cups of brown sugar, packed!
10. One pound of raw chicken can feed four people!
See, It’s all about perspective :-) In other news, I FINALLY found someone to trade that NASTY NASTY NASTY black bean tortilla soup, black beans and rice, and the tex mex rice and beans! I was able to trade for some of the items that I actually enjoy! So I am excited about that. I don’t have to eat dehydrated black beans anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!
Another test that I encountered was an engagement party for some friends of ours this past Saturday. They had catered Mexican food from a Mexican restaurant! Ya’ll all know that I LOVE Mexican food! So this was a huge test for me. I ate before I went and when I got there, I diligently went to where the cooler was and grabbed a water! No beer and, NO MEXICAN FOOD! It smelled SOOOOO good!!! I didn’t even take a bite of a chip much less drink anything loaded with carbs or alcohol! This whole thing is getting easier and easier! Bring it ON!! I think I’m going to pass these tests!!!
Well, This is the end of this weeks email. I’ll update next Monday! I’m entering into my fourth week of Nutrisystem! Thanks again everyone for your wonderful encouragement!!! You are all a part of my journey through this thing, and I’m so thankful that you all understand how important this is to me! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I'll have a Christie Light Please! 3/12/07

I'll have a Christie Light Please! :-)

When I started nutri system, exactly two weeks ago, I didn’t have any expectations for it. I saw it as a diet, but didn’t exactly know what to expect, so I expected nothing. Two weeks down, and 11.2 lbs lighter (That’s right ladies and gentlemen…. 11.2 LBS!!!!!!!) I still don’t feel like I’m on a diet, and I’m loving it!!! The only major things I’ve had problems with are the meals that you have to re-hydrate, but it’s really not THAT bad… For the black bean meals, my co-worker came up with the perfect solution…. Hot Sauce. Texas Pete to be exact. That way, your mouth burns so bad that you can’t really taste the stuff you’re putting in your mouth :-) .
This past weekend, we were out at the lake for Dad’s birthday. I think my family felt bad for me, not being able to partake in the foods that they were eating, but they actually made healthier choices so that I could eat a little of what they were having. Grilled Chicken Breast, Fresh Green Beans, whole wheat rolls, (they had rice aroni but that I wouldn’t allow myself…. That was tough.. but I’m proud of myself!! Haha). I saved my protein portion that I would have had for my snack and decided to have a piece of the grilled chicken for dinner with the family. I still had to eat my Nutri System meal, of which I made the Vegetable Fajitas (which amazingly enough were GREAT!!). I did not feel the least bit slighted!!! Mom had gotten cup cakes for Dad’s birthday, so that there wasn’t any left over cake to graze on. So when cake time rolled around, I made my Nutri System desert Microwavable Chocolate Cake. It was surprisingly tasty! Not too chocolaty, but just the right amount. I only cheated when it came to icing. (OOPS!). I only put a little tiny bit of icing from one of the cup cakes on my chocolate cake and mixed it in with it. It was great!!!!!
We did a lot of yard work out at the lake yesterday and I got the floating dock scrubbed and cleaned. That took about 30 minutes of hard scrubbing to get that thing ‘Degunked’. It’s actually white now :-) .
I woke up this morning afraid to get on the scale, and when I did, I stepped on there, and for a minute I thought my eyes were going bad. It’s a doctors scale, so you have to manually bump up the lbs, until the scale is equal. So I put my weight as it was last week, and then had to keep moving the weight down…. When it said I had lost 7.2 lbs from last Monday, I kept squinting my eyes to make sure if it was real. It was!!!! I went down stairs to my parents with a HUGE smile on my face. It feels sooo good to be proud of yourself!!! :-) !!! AND..... Today.. I'm wearing a size smaller in pants because over the weekend, my pants kept falling down while doing yard work!!!! SO...... I pulled out the smaller pants today. They are a size smaller and I'm comfortable in them!!! :-) YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll have to go invest in some belts and some draw string pants if I keep this whole LOSER thing up! :-) I never thought it'd feel so great to be a loser! Hahahaha...
In two weeks I’ve hit two of my goals. The 5 lbs goal and my 10 lbs goal! Now, onto the 20 lbs goal!!!! :-) The work Begins!!!!!
Thank you to ALL of you who have sent encouraging words! Thank you to my family for sticking with it with me. You know your brain starts changing when you give your brother a lesson in finding the healthiest tortillas to buy in a Food Lion.. :-) So maybe we’re all benefiting from this Nutri System thing as a family! I’m LOVING this thing!!! I’m STILL enjoying it, and I STILL am excited about it! Thanks again All!!!

I'm such a LOSER 3/5/2007

I’m such a loser! A FOUR POUND loser!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been on Nutri System now for 1 full week today. I got on the scales this morning, and tada…. I’m down four pounds! I know not every week will be like this, but for the first week, this is not bad! I’m still excited about it too!! Usually after a week of weight watchers, I’m ready to go crazy. However, this NS thing is actually pretty darn good! It’s easy to stick to and I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything.
So far, everything except for the black bean meals and the chicken have been fantastic! I am contemplating sending back the black bean lunches. The water just doesn’t hydrate those enough to make them taste right. I’ve been eating the right amount of dairy and having my daily fruits, veggies, and water. I’ve found that the Green Tea to Go is the BEST stuff ever!!! And it’s cheaper than Crystal Light! It also has zero calories, where as the Crystal Light has 5 (I know, not a big deal, but.. a calorie is a calorie!).
We were at the lake this weekend, and that was definitely a struggle. BUT, I survived and again, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. I was even able to enjoy some Graham crackers that didn’t make me over my calorie limit… So that was a huge plus! I didn’t allow myself to munch on things that I wasn’t supposed to. It sounds a little crazy to make your life around what time you eat, but for the first few weeks, until I get the complete hang of this, I need to keep my timing on schedule, so my body can adjust to the lower calories. I think that’ll help me in the long run. My body is already starting to recognize when I need to eat something, so it’s kind of like I’m in "spring training" for my body. Haha.
I have a goal to be in this neat cocktail dress that I had purchased a while back that I’ve never been able to wear. It has been tight since I bought it. I purchased it through Ebay so I was unable to return it. It’s a beautiful dress, but I’m hoping to be able to fit in that by Reunion time in June! Who knows, it may be too big on me, and I may have to go out and find something else. We’ll see! For now, I’m concentrating on the day to day and dreaming of the loser days to come!
Thank you all for your continued support through this whole thing!!! I know you all know how much it means to me to be able to lose this weight, but I don't think you guys know how appreciative I am of your support. You are all awesome and I thank you for that!!!
It feels AWESOME to be a LOSER!!!

Day Four and Ready For More! 2/29/2007

Day four and I’m looking forward to the weekend, because after the weekend comes Monday and that’s my weigh in day! Woohoo… I think. Haha. So yesterday morning I had the Maple and Brown sugar oatmeal, and it was actually VERY good. I’m surprised more and more at how great the food actually is. That first day was a little trying, but I made it through, and everything since then has been great!
For Lunch I decided to try the Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes with Broccoli. These were like mashed potatoes. I decided not to risk screwing this one up, and went to the cafeteria to get hot water this time. This seemed to be the trick! I LOVED the potatoes!!!!! They tasted delicious and actually tasted somewhat cheesy. The Broccoli wasn’t that prominent in it. Susan I think would actually like them! Those mashed potatoes filled me up to the point that I couldn’t fathom eating the dairy and fruit right with them, so I held off on those and decided to eat those with my snack. That lasted me till I got home for Dinner.
Dinner was AWESOME! I had the "beef" tacos. I’m not sure if it was real beef or not, but I don’t think it really mattered. It came with three circular taco shells, so what I did was put lettuce in a bowl, and poured the meat mixture onto the lettuce and added reduced fat sour cream (a little less than a serving) and it counted as my fat serving. I mixed it all together and had a taco salad!
I decided to have the crunchy cheese curls again last night. I have more of those than anything else. I’m so proud of myself for sticking to this thing. I’m excited about it, and I’ve been on it for almost five days. I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything really. The only thing I’ve craved so far is carbs! If that’s the only thing I’m craving, I think I’m doing pretty darn well! I think that this Nutri System thing is what’s going to work for me this time. I’ve never been more satisfied with a diet before.
So, Monday will start just the weekly email of this journey. Thank you all for your supportive words this week! You’re all great!!! I’m gonna get there One pound at a time!

Day Three Oh Look at Me! 2/28/2007

So Day 3 has come and gone, and I’m still doing fantastic! 100% for 3 days straight. For the morning I had scrambled eggs (in powder form, which you have to mix with water… just don’t ask….lol) I substituted my dairy for a protein and added an extra egg to the mix. I read on the NS support boards that by doing this, it actually makes it taste like real eggs, and the texture would be better. I can’t say the texture was that of real eggs, but I can’t imagine what it would have been like had I not added that extra egg in there. Add a little salt and pepper and voila! It actually tasted pretty decent.
For lunch I decided to try the Cheese Tortellini and that was EXCELLENT!!! I didn’t need any spices to make that one taste good, it actually tasted like it was full of fat, and it really wasn’t.
Snack was the same Cottage Cheese with two whole wheat saltine crackers. I’m actually starting to like that stuff. Imagine that! Even without the crackers, it’s not all that bad. I never thought I’d say that.
Towards the end of each day for the past three days, I had been feeling light headed, but not hungry. I entered all of my food into the food journal provided on line that does a calorie count, and all three days I did not add up to the 1500 required caloric intake. NS has a great online feature where you can speak with a nutrition councilor in a "chat" format. I asked my questions, and it turns out that the light headedness is definitely coming from not taking in enough calories. He gave me some suggestions on how to amp up the calories and that included adding one more serving of Carbs, fruits, and dairy.
So.. Last night for dinner, I had the cheese and spinach ravioli in meat sauce, and I toasted TWO pieces of whole wheat bread instead of the one. I also had the amazing green beans again. YUM!!! I add less than a serving of margarine to it, and ad some salt to taste and it’s mighty tasty!
Last night’s snack was less than thrilling, but it wasn’t bad. I made the chocolate pudding. This has an awesome chocolate smell to it, but the minute you touch your tongue to it, you realize that some things are just better with fat and calories. BUT… I did add a banana with it, and I had a semi chocolate banana for my dessert. It wasn’t completely horrendous, but I have gone in and altered my next order to not include more than 1 packet of chocolate pudding.
Last night, the reduction in my carbs really got to me. I always heard of people who went on the no carb diet, saying that they started really craving carbs. Well, last night, I did! I wanted a baked potato so bad!!! So again, I opted for the carrots. Those darn carrots have become my crunchy life line lately. I’m not complaining though. I guess I should test my taste buds with another crunchy veggie for variety. We’ll see.
I also made a goals list of what I’m working for. My final goal is a trip to Hawaii!!! LOOK OUT MAUI CAUSE HERE I COME!!!
So onto Day four!!!! Thanks again ya’ll for all of your support!!!

Day Two of NS 2/27/2007

Day two down! Yesterday’s meals were 10 times better than Monday’s meals! I started off yesterday morning with Blueberry muffins which weren’t the greatest, but they were good. It was enough to fill me up for a while. I also had my fruit and dairy. YUM! I decided when I got to work that I’d try the Green Tea Mandarin and Mango flavor To Go by Lipton in my water for the morning, and that was actually VERY good. It tastes a little bit like Tang, but not as sweet. I found that it took the edge off of my grumbling stomach for a bit. I didn’t have to munch on the carrots between breakfast and lunch, so that’s not a bad thing. It may be too that I was kept pretty busy at work, and didn’t really have time to munch on the carrots. I don’t think people on the other end of the phone would appreciate a nice loud CRUNCH in their ears.
Lunch was REALLY good. I had the Veggie Beef Stew and it was GREAT! I didn’t even have to add salt to it at all. That was also very filling and adding to it the dairy and the fruit that I have to have with it, made it feel even more filling. I didn’t have to add water to this one, so I didn’t have a chance to mess it up. (Thank Goodness!) This meal allowed me to last a little longer for my snack. I didn’t eat my snack till around 4. (This makes me sound like such a kid, but I guess that’s how it has to be)
Snack was Cottage Cheese with Grape Juice (I can supplement juice for fruit as long as it’s within the requirements). Since I didn’t have my extra carb for breakfast, I chose to have my carb with my snack. I had two whole wheat crackers to go with the cottage cheese, and it was pretty tasty.
Keep in mind that during the day, I’ve got a bottle of water (which equals two servings of water) constantly going on my desk. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll probably lose more weight just by getting up and walking to the ladies room from consuming so much water! I felt like every hour I was getting up. I don’t mind getting away from my desk, but geesh! It’s for the greater good, so I’m not complaining. Haha.
Dinner last night was fantastic! I had Chili. I put some lettuce in a bowl and heated the chili up in the microwave. I then poured the chili on top of the lettuce and had a salad. It made it feel like there was more to it. I was very pleased with it. Definitely one to do over. I also had the BEST fresh green beans I’ve had in a LONG time. They were yummy to say the least!
For desert, I decided to try the White Cheddar Soy Chips. I had heard mixed things about these Soy Chips, but I decided not to form an opinion about them until after I tried. I think that’s the best way to do it. I can freak myself out over what everyone else who have tried the foods has to say about what they don’t like. But anyway, the soy chips were great! The perfect amount of crunch and just the right amount of flavor. I loved them.
I did get the munchies last night around 9:30ish. I was craving something crunchy again. So I went to the fridge, and TADA… I pulled out the carrots and munched on the carrots. I was so proud of myself, especially because there were quite a few other things there that I could have munched on and didn’t. I didn’t even have a desire to! I was satisfied with carrots. I wasn’t hungry, so I knew that it wasn’t that, it was just the want to crunch on something. I also drank an extra two servings of water adding the total servings to 10 for yesterdays water intake! WOOHOO... Bladder is floating.. :-)
This whole losing weight thing is a challenge, but I’m still excited about it. I’m going on my third day so far, and I’m not dreading it. I’m already making better choices than I would have a week ago. I’m doing this! I’m all in! All or nothing.
Thank you all for the support!! I’m so blessed to have such amazing friends and family. I love you all!!

First Day Of NS 2/26/2007

To those of you who don't know, I started NutriSystem yesterday to help me lose some weight. I just wanted to share with ya'll how that first day went :-) If I lose some weight, I'll let ya'll know :-) Maybe by reunion time (carri, nif and Jenn) I'll be a little slimmer! YAY! Love you all!!!!
So already 24 hours down and 1 full day of NS meals, and I’m feeling pretty good. I didn’t mind the Nutri Flakes. Those were actually pretty good. The Black Bean Tortilla Soup, I messed that one up BIG TIME!! I didn’t put enough water in there, and messed it up with the corn etc…. So it tasted somewhat gummy and goopy. Not exactly what you want to taste. I braved the Chicken Breast Patty which tasted like the smell of tuna cat food. Something about Chicken that looks like that and tastes like that, there is something wrong with it. I did get all of my fruits and veggies in, as well as all my water. I even went for a walk with my Dad and "Bella" last night. I spaced my meals and snacks out perfectly so I really wasn’t all that hungry. Last night Snack was the pouch of Crunchy Cheese Curls that were YUMMY!!! They tasted like baked Cheetos! The one obstacle that I thought would be a problem was the dairy. I’m not one to like yogurt (only every now and then.. have to be in the mood for it) and I’m the same way with Cottage Cheese. BUT…. I actually enjoyed those yesterday! I had strawberry Yogurt and Key Lime Yogurt. Both were very tasty. The cottage cheese I kinda had to grin and bear it, but I did it, and I’m alive to tell you about it.
So here goes the next 24 hours. So far I’ve had the blueberry muffins and those weren’t half bad. I’m going to have the Veggie Beef Stew for lunch today along with a salad and some other items on my list. I’m drinking my water… I did add some of the Green Tea Mandarin and Mango To Go to the water, and it’s actually pretty good. It tastes like tang a little bit, and I’m still getting my water in. So YAY!!! Anyway, I just figured I’d share that with ya’ll!